


In His Dreams

by ShadowPaw



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Aether Foundation, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-09-02 09:39:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8662558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowPaw/pseuds/ShadowPaw
Summary: Once, his dreams were a source of comfort, a place to retreat away from the world. Now that he had escaped, his dreams were the only place he could see her.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this at 2 a.m. after looking at a million pictures of this boy on Tumblr. I have a problem.

At one point, his dreams had been his refuge. When his father first vanished, when his mother first began to obsess over those creatures, when "Ultra Beasts" first entered his six-year old vocabulary, his dreams were his safe place.

A place where he could visit the mother he had one known. A place where soft praises replaced cruel insults, where requests were asked not barked as orders meant to be obeyed, where hugs and caresses replaced strikes and glares. A place where his old life was still sacred.

Gladion didn't understand. He missed his father too, but his bright green eyes didn't turn cold and blank. As her soul turned cold, and as his stayed warm, Gladion knew that there was something very wrong with the woman he called mother.

Gladion rolled over onto his back in his sleep.

  When she screamed at him for not wearing the outfit she picked out, spitting curses and insults at his trembling form even as tears fell from his eyes, Gladion knew he had lost both parents.

_He groaned, the fingers on his left hand twitching._

Gladion had obeyed for a long time after that outburst, afraid of triggering her rage again. The next time he incurred her wrath was when he asked about leaving the foundation. She had struck him across the face. She had called him a selfish, ungrateful child. Said he was no son of her's. Gladion wished he wasn't. And he cried himself to sleep

_He gasped in his sleep, filling the darkened room with the soft sound._

It all changed, however, when he saw Null. When he watched a creature, so much like him, being forced into a helmet. A creature, so much like  _him_ , being forced into a cage. A creature that was him being molded in his mother's image and forced to do his mother's bidding. 

He had to save it.

_Gladion tossed fitfully, knocking his pillow onto Silvally's bed._

He made plans to run away, to break into the lab, to steal Null. He made no plans to take his younger sister. His mother still loved her since she was still small, still obedient, still beautiful. He convinced himself that she'd be fine.

_Guilt consumed Gladion as he whined, tears building in his eyes._

That night, he and his mother fought. His mother screamed at him violently over the dinner table, making servants flee and Lillie cower. Gladion, for the first time, screamed back. He was done being her toy, done being her property. At first, she froze, shocked at the outburst. But it was only for a moment. For a moment, she was silent, she was shocked, then her face turned red and she stood up. Her heels clacked violently against the floor as she approached him. Now it was Gladion's turn to freeze as she grabbed him back the back of his shirt and raised her hand-

Gladion jolted awake as something warm and wet ran across his face. Silvally stood above him, licking the salty tears from his cheeks. Gladion sat in silence for a moment, as more tears ran down his flushed face, his hands clutching the must motel blankets, until he was sure his mother wasn't coming for him.

As soon as he was sure, Gladion's lips parted with a sob that shook his entire body. Silvally clumsily climbed onto the bed, laying its large weight across its master's legs as he cried.

Gladion sat up, wrapping his arms around Silvally's neck and crying into the soft, white fur. He wasn't sure how long he stayed that way, but it was long enough for his and Silvally's heat to mingle, becoming a cocoon of warmth and comfort. Gladion's sobs quieted to sniffles, and he pulled away from his pokemon's damp fur. Silver eyes met green, and Gladion snorted, wiping his nose. "I'm f-fine Silvally..." The pokemon let out a concerned chitter. "Really..."

Silvally gave another soft sound, nuzzling its master's cheek. Gladion gazed at the creature which trusted him enough to take off its helmet, and warmth bubbled up in his stomach. He ran his fingers carefully over the white feathers of the creature's maine, and his lips twitched into an approximation of a smile.

"You know what, Silvally...?" He asked quietly. Silvally tilted its head. "You're worth it..." He spoke softly. "If I had to do it all again to end up with you, I would..." He stroked under Silvally's chin. The creature, who did not understand his master's words but did understand his gentle tone, chattered softly, leaning into the affection.

Gladion smiled and leaned his forehead against Silvally's soft fluff, his eyes half closed as his arms drooped limply around the broad creature's neck. "You're worth it, Silvally..." He mumbled, exhausted eyes falling shut. Silvally sat sentry the rest of the night, determined to protect its master, its hero, its friend 


End file.
